Yes. It was winter 2018 in nice, warm Jacksonville Florida. I was working for Sony as a camera salesman, shooting weddings as a photographer, going to sunrises with my buddies to get some creative shots for Instagram. A large YouTuber, Peter Mckinnon, was a favorite of mine. I tried to learn his editing techniques, I was getting better at videography thanks to his inspiration, and my buddies always talked about his newest video. One day, December 27, 2018 to be exact, Peter dropped a video called “The Bucket Shot”. It is a 24 minute, action packed, mini-documentary about traveling to Banff Canada, at the beginning of snowfall to get a photo he’s dreamed of getting. And man… it was quite the shot.
As a slightly chunky, white dude that wears flannel, glasses, and a beard way better than my age should allow… I have always loved the mountains. I go to the mountains any chance I get. So of course, as I sat there watching this video about a photographer traveling through snowy mountains to take the sickest photo ever, I was inspired. Immediately after the video ended I sent it to my best friend, who is also a photographer, and we planned the trip 3 days later with us and his brother. It took us 5 months to eventually get to Canada, but since we are 3 Florida boys, we decided to wait till the end of winter (May up there) to go. Thankfully there was still plenty of snow, but thankfully we didn't have to drive in it.
The Bucket Shot — the video referenced above — is by far one of my favorite mini-docs to come out. The video opens with BROLL of some camera equipment in Peter’s familiar office and a voiceover talking about how adventurous he was as a kid skateboarding. They even throw in old footage of a much younger Peter making skateboarding videos. It moves along to his inspiration of seeing someone else's photo of Moraine Lake, with snow-covered mountains, and a perfectly liquid turquoise water. He immediately knew he needed the same shot. As the video continues he runs into a few troubles with weather as he needs to be there on a perfect day with no fog, when it snows the night before, and the lake isn't frozen yet, AND the roads aren't closed yet. It is a narrow thin window, but spoiler alert, he makes it. But this isn’t without some fantastic storytelling. The video cuts between on the scene footage of peter on location, and him telling it after the fact. It is seemless. The ending is dramatic and amazing with how they reveal Peter’s photo.
It will always be one of my favorite videos, and one of my favorite memories. Now, I did not recreate the shot, but this wasn't my goal. My goal was to go into the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Banff, with a few buddies, and get some awesome photos.
The video is linked below, and so is my favorite photo from my trip. Thanks for reading.
